Monday, April 12, 2010

Great God Almighty, I'm Free at Last! Now, Who Stole My Chains?!

This will be a short post, just to get us started. It's an early day, and I gotta get out of here.

Here is the full text of what Mouravieff says about the higher dimensions of time:

"For the moment, it will be sufficent to say that Time possesses not one but three dimensions, and that these dimensions are strictly analogous to those of Space."

Okay, I'm with you so far: in Euclidian space there is line, plane, and sphere. This must mean that there are analogies to these three in Time. Please continue.

"We shall limit ourselves to saying that we know that the waking consciousness, that of the 'I' of the personality is extremely relative and is able neither to grasp nor directly observe these two higher dimensions of Time, nor their effects."

Rather, the local ego, or what a I prefer to call (•), "confuses them with the fourth dimension, in a single perception of the ensemble which is the Line of Time."

In other words, dimensions Five and Six get lumped in with Four, which is reminiscent of Bion's "attacks on linking," which I have described as a kind of "dimensional defense," in that the primitive mind is easily able to render null and void meanings that only exist in a higher dimension by fleeing into a lower one.

This is what unifies psychological defense mechanisms as diverse as regression, splitting, denial, and acting out, in that each of these, in its own way, is analogous to seeking refuge in the Circle for fear of what lurks in the Sphere.

Or, as in the case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), one might flee the Circle for the Line. With OCD, the person's existence is quite literally reduced to a line in which they go back and forth between anxiety and its temporary dissipation in the ritual of the obsession or compulsion. Thus, it is actually a kind of circular line, but a line nonetheless, as one always ends up back where one started -- A to B and then back to A.

But this also renders a kind of false eternity, doesn't it, perhaps analogous to the hell of Nietzsche's eternal return? For at the ground floor of all human striving -- including of course intellectual striving -- is the desire to know the Absolute, i.e., God or O.

Now, one easy -- and all too human -- way to do this is to reduce the Absolute to something more manageable, by, say, washing one's hands hundreds of times a day, or devoting one's life to a political candidate in the belief that he will change one's existence, or placing one's faith in a two-dimensional scientific theory such as Darwinism in the belief that this linear scheme explains the Sphere.

Perhaps a clinical example will better explain my meaning. Not too long ago I evaluated a person who was crippled by a lifelong case of OCD. In fact, the OCD had been present for so long that for him it was normative. He knew no other way of existing. Furthermore, his obsessions and compulsions -- his various physical and mental rituals -- gave him comfort in the same way that one can obtain comfort from food, or sex, or companionship, or a scientific theory, or God, whatever.

This individual eventually became depressed, which is inevitable, since OCD is originally put in place to protect a vulnerable self, but ends up depriving the self of what it needs to survive and grow. In other words, the person's life revolves around his rituals, so that he cannot metabolize sufficient Love, Truth, and Beauty to remain intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually healthy.

Anyway, this person ended up being prescribed an SSRI for his depression, but it had the added benefit of eliminating the OCD (which his doctor hadn't even known about, since the patient didn't see it as a "problem" and therefore hadn't even mentioned it).

Long story short, he ended up discontinuing the SSRI because he missed his OCD. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that he was literally lost without his rituals, in the sense that he was now naked in the infinite Sphere without so much as a figleaf of compulsiveness to help him cling to the finite line. He was suddenly "free," but for him, this actually meant terror -- quite literal terror, Pascal's eternal silence of these infinite space -- as he was now face-to-face with the very reality which his OCD had been implemented to protect him from in the first place!

Now, could we make a gratuitous comment about how this is analogous to what the leftist -- I mean the true believer, not merely the clueless Democrat -- does with the terror of his God-given political freedom?

For what is the Nanny State but a gargantuan two-dimensional plane that we should all cling to in order to protect us from the infinite Sphere of Life?

And what are all of the thousands of useless laws and agencies they put in place, but a kind of collective OCD, in which we always end up back where we started? In other words, trillions of wasted dollars later, we have the same poverty, the same violence, the same stupidity. The same Mankind, frankly, only worse for the systematic neglect of man's true nature.

And the leftist does not wish to be cured, any more than the above patient did. For to be cured is to realize that one's life has been wasted in meaningless rituals. And that's a depressing thought.

27 Comments:

Your point about how much of everything we do, including but not limited to social activism and outreach, being a wasted and circular effort, is well taken.

I believe the analogy of whipping a cup full of water with a fork would serve us well here. After delivering a furious beating, the water in the cup simply settles back to being how it was. Nothing results from the effort.

Nevertheless, there MUST necessarily be things which can be done which are not a senseless water-whipping. I would like to hear commentary on what things those might be. These would then be the things a person should attend to.

Some ideas:

GOOD USE OF TIME:

Food production, with the caveat that it is healthy food.

This would include the operations of cooking and cleaning dishes.

Education of others, with the caveat the curriculum is useful/beneficial.

Scientific discovery, no limits.

Medical care and succor of the sick.

Construction and maintenance of roads, schools, hospitals, family dwellings, water and power inftrastructure.

Information technology and software development, with the caveat that it serve useful purposes.

Political discussions and discourse, with the caveat that these foster the well-being of the people and do not waste resources.

And the leftist does not wish to be cured, any more than the above patient did. For to be cured is to realize that one's life has been wasted in meaningless rituals. . .

"Get your money for nothing, get your chicks for free Money for nothing, chicks for free Look at that, look at that Get your money for nothing, get your chicks for free (I want my, I want my, I want my M.T.V.) Money for nothing and chicks for free Easy, easy"

Many don't want to be cured but many want the power that comes with deciding what is best for others.

Grant- your ideas come with the same caveats as all the great dictators had for their people ie;healthy food, curriculum is useful/beneficial. Who determines what is healthy or useful or beneficial? Why, the gov. of course. But what is useful for the gov. may not be what is useful to me. That is why leftism has always failed and has led to the death of hundreds of millions of people.As an example, the banning of DDT. It felt good to protect some animal species but at what cost? How many thousands of people have died from malaria that could have been prevented with the use of DDT?Leftist biggest problem is they are incapable or unwilling to learn from their mistakes or maybe they are just evil.I don't want or need anyone telling me what is best for me. I can make my own decisions and am quite willing and able to live with the consequences.

My comment indicated an opinion there is a right way and a wrong way to go about things, individually and collectively.

You may not agree with all of my opinions.

I do note that Bob has opinions about the right way to do things, too.

I would even say that if a person does not have opinions of what is right, good, and of utility, then they to all lost.

How can one lead if one does not know where to go?

Healthy food, useful education, roads in good repair, etc; all of it is common sense.

It's not rocket science.

So,your comment makes sense on the face of it but shows a certain hyperbole or overboldness. There is basic consensus already of what is in the common wheal and I don't try to go beyond it, and that is pretty obvious.

Am I the only one who gets the heebie jeebies when I think about the possibility that the same government having to pay out SS (which is now truly tapped out) will ultimately be making health care decisions for the elderly?

I mean, is that not a serious conflict of interest?

Actuaries already have it all figured out what percentage of us will die before re-claiming our SS payments.

And then there's the ineradicable image of Speaker of the House Pelosi explaining how directing stimulus funds toward "family planning" (read: abortion) saves the government money.

"Am I the only one who gets the heebie jeebies when I think about the possibility that the same government having to pay out SS (which is now truly tapped out) will ultimately be making health care decisions for the elderly?"

It's not only a conflict of interest, it is typical leftist planning. Reducing health procedures for the elderly will reduce the number of elderly, which are the most expensive members of the population. Most health care expenses are during the last six months of a person's life. If the gov. can reduce those expenditures, then it can reduce the overall cost of healthcare and reduce the amount of social security payments for that individual.Once the elderly are deemed a burden on society, it will be much easier for the population to accept denial of medical care.This is what leftism does. It takes away individual rights and replaces them with group rights and then pits one group against another, by conferring special rights to purported groups who are perceived as being victims. This has worked for the left for 100+ years and the bodies will continue to pile up.

To use freedom properly, you have to have a plan. Otherwise, you are left facing a terrible blankness.

As Sigmund Freud once stated, a person needs something to love, something to do, and something to hope for. The OCD sufferer is deficient on need #2. He puts his compulsion into the breach in lieu of anything better.

The OCD person needs a good plan of what to do with his freedom BEFORE his shackles are removed.

Otherwise, in the face of the void, he will re-enter his familiar cage, no matter how uncomfortable it is.

And I might add this goes for all of us. We are all compulsive and anxious to some degree, and engage in behaviors that are at best a waste of time.

"Both proclaim, no doubt sincerely, that they wish to promote the well-being of the 'general public,' that they know what is in the 'public interest' and how to obtain it better than the ordinary person. Both, therefore, profess a paternalistic philosophy."

I defend our government's level of involvement. A democratic government willing to actively legislate and enforce regulations without the need for constant personal bribes is a Godsend.

Any response to social problems with government funding or oversight should be welcomed.

Unless you lose a basic freedom like speech, right to bear arms, voting, pursuit of happiness, etc., some or even alot of meddling into your pocketbook is warranted. Life is more than money.

What we don't want and shouldn't ask for is a weak, look the other way federal government willing to let moneyed interests wreak havoc where they would, while undertaxing and becoming jelly-belly bass-fishers and issueing the armed forces crappy equipment at high rates of return.

Don't be convinced into thinking that less government is better.

Government lite will bring you and your family misery, guaranteed. It will allow the wolves at the sheep unrestricted. Unless you are a wolf, then you should not let convervatives get control of your government.

Obama, Pelosi,and the Democratic party are the best possible stewards of the American people at this time. I know that's not the prevailing opinion here at OC, but just give it a thought.

You are either naive or stupid or both. You have absolutely no understanding of what made this country great. The gov. doesn't create any wealth. They steal it at the point of a gun from people that produce it and I assume from your diatribe, that does not include you. The gov. is essentially the biggest corporation in the world with the power to take what it wants and redistribute it to those it deems worthy. It is the essence of corruption and bribery especially the modern progressive death and treason party.

Julie-I intercepted your hat from Susannah. It was probably my turn anyway. I need to get back to reloading now.

"Britain is so badly in debt that even draconian measures won’t hack it. Like the man who has maxed out his credit card and maxed out his other cards to pay for his debts, piling interest on interest, it is no longer a question of curbing the spending spree. It’s a question of telling the public it has to work till it drops to pay a political generation’s folly. And that’s not the worst of it. All that tax money has gone to buy junk: one bloated bureaucracy after the other starting from local councils all the way to the EU monster in Brussels. Britain has gone into debt to buy a ball and chain. Who’s going to tell the electorate that? And how do you sell solutions to such monumental problems to an electorate accustomed to being promised ever more comfort, safety and ease? The answer: you can’t."

Don't you think it odd that the Libs have had to import poverty to have something to "do good" on? Hell, they have been fighting an endless war on poverty my entire life (quagmire?) and all they have to show for is 5th generation dependent feral dogs with plasma TVs. Nice going ivies. The only way to stop it is to stop it. Treat all people equally. Tax all people the same rate (flat income tax or better destroy income taxes in lieu of National Sales Tax collected by the States {no IRS}). Make the government racially blind (no more quotas). Do that and our republic could be salvaged. Don't do it and the republics destruction is guaranteed.

Amazingly -- and everyone forgets this -- the Great Society programs of the 1960s were sold as a means to end poverty within a few years, not to become an eternal welfare state for a permanent underclass. If liberals had told the truth about these programs, they never would have gotten through the legislature. And yet, now we're stuck with them forever.

Cooncur. I find it so strange that my hedonistic generation became such a bunch of constricted, life-denying, politically correct killjoys. They really do mirror a certain strand of anti-pleasure Christianity that has infected the West since Augustine.

One of the things I most appreciate about Judaism is its emphasis on fully enjoying all of life's permitted pleasures -- accent on both words. The Raccoon way is a tantric way, meaning that it is again a descending path that attempts to divinize the world, not escape it on the one hand (pure verticality), or mindlessly wallow in it on the other (pure horizontality). Rather: verticalize the horizontal in all things. Or, both arrows all the time (↓↑).

"This is what unifies psychological defense mechanisms as diverse as regression, splitting, denial, and acting out, in that each of these, in its own way, is analogous to seeking refuge in the Circle for fear of what lurks in the Sphere."

That sooo captures it, the fleeing from 'poverty' by destroying the means of creating wealth and ensuring the spread of poverty.

grant said "I would like to hear commentary on what things those might be. These would then be the things a person should attend to."

How about your own life? And including people you care about in your life? If you manage to do that fairly well, you might even experience pangs of generosity and charity which you could direct towards those who might be appreciative of it?

Or... you could use your D gang to tell other people how to live their lives, force them apart with govt programs, tamp down the means for and true feelings of generosity and charity and replace them with good ol' wheel spinning envy and resentment.

Duh. But can you Justify it? No... as you've proven by running away again and again.

"A democratic government willing to actively legislate and enforce regulations without the need for constant personal bribes is a Godsend."

blink. stare. c.o.r.n.h.u.s.k.e.r. k.I.c.k.b.a.c.k.

"...ndertaxing and becoming jelly-belly bass-fishe..."

I can just hear the hands being washed for the umpteenth time that day.

"just give it a thought"

Gave it one, which proved more than it was worth. I've demolished it more times than I care to count. You are at war with reality. It burns. Don't bother pretending to look for water while you keep adding fuel, we know that,

"in the face of the void, he will re-enter his familiar cage, no matter how uncomfortable it is."

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